Hello everyone,
My name is Silvia and I live in the suburbs of Los Angeles, CA. About a month and a half ago, a bantam hen showed up in my back yard. One of my neighbors used to keep chickens and roosters and moved away. Weeks later, the bantam started coming to my back yard. I was not able to find the owners since the property was sold and the people renting the house were long gone by the time I went knocking on doors to find the owners.
We took a liking to her and named her Pearl. She was very scared and skittish in the beginning but how she likes to lay down outside my window when I am working. She is getting a proper diet from our local feed store, has a small coop, a run, a nesting box with hay, and fresh water. She has even laid some yummy eggs too. Her food is inside her coop and she goes inside to eat. Her favorite snack is dried meal worms. She does not sleep in her coop and roosts up on a lemon tree in my neighbor's yard who has a pit bull. She spends most of the day in my back yard snacking on grass and scratching the dirt. Pearl often goes off into my neighbors yards. I worry about her wandering ways and sleeping up on that lemon tree where a predator can eat her. Pearl can easily scale our 5' tall block wall since she can fly. I bought her a separate run that measures 5'x 5' and 8' tall but she has not been inside it yet. Later this week I will be connecting the coop with the run. Pearl seems to like classical music too. She has never eaten out of my hand or let me pet her. I would value your advice and guidance on the following:
My name is Silvia and I live in the suburbs of Los Angeles, CA. About a month and a half ago, a bantam hen showed up in my back yard. One of my neighbors used to keep chickens and roosters and moved away. Weeks later, the bantam started coming to my back yard. I was not able to find the owners since the property was sold and the people renting the house were long gone by the time I went knocking on doors to find the owners.
We took a liking to her and named her Pearl. She was very scared and skittish in the beginning but how she likes to lay down outside my window when I am working. She is getting a proper diet from our local feed store, has a small coop, a run, a nesting box with hay, and fresh water. She has even laid some yummy eggs too. Her food is inside her coop and she goes inside to eat. Her favorite snack is dried meal worms. She does not sleep in her coop and roosts up on a lemon tree in my neighbor's yard who has a pit bull. She spends most of the day in my back yard snacking on grass and scratching the dirt. Pearl often goes off into my neighbors yards. I worry about her wandering ways and sleeping up on that lemon tree where a predator can eat her. Pearl can easily scale our 5' tall block wall since she can fly. I bought her a separate run that measures 5'x 5' and 8' tall but she has not been inside it yet. Later this week I will be connecting the coop with the run. Pearl seems to like classical music too. She has never eaten out of my hand or let me pet her. I would value your advice and guidance on the following:
- Once the coop and the run are connected, I will confine Pearl inside so that she is coop trained. How long should I leave her in the coop before letting her out? Is one week too much?
- Should I get another bantam hen to keep Pearl company?
- Based on the pictures, what breed is she? Orpington??
- Is her coop and run large enough?
- Based on what I have shared, does Pearl need anything else?
- How can I gain more of her trust so that I can get closer and even pet her?
and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.
to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!
